They need market for gas Unocal won't go for further exploration
September 07, 2001 
The New Nation.

US oil company Unocal has "strategically" remained off from exploring further gas in Bangladesh due to demand constraints, reports UNB. 

Unocal Bangladesh Limited (UBL) has also decided to limit operatins at this moment at the lone production
plant at Jalalabad Gas Field in Sylhet, its officials said. They said the company had proposed to Petrobangla
for drilling three more wells after five remained in operation under the lone plant but now they are not thinking over that for lack of market. It will not also develop Bibiyana gas field and the Moulvibazar one now although they discovered gas reserves drilling three wells at Bibiyana and one at Moulvibazar, 4 km north of the point of Magurchhara blowout. 

Moreover, officials said, UBL did not yet go for exploration in the latest awarded block at the Sundarbans. "We don't need more wells next week, next month or next year...We are waiting for market," manager of Jalalabad Gas Field Harry J Weatherspoon told a group of newsmen that visited the field Tuesday-Wednesday. 

He said the drilling at the field was restricted not by Petrobangla, but by consideration of a huge investment
required for drilling and developing a well or field against lack or demand of the product. 

At present, UBL officials said, the company supplies only 82 million cubic feet (mmcf) gas per day to the
national grid, 10-12 per cent of the total supplies, with the full production capacity of 125-140 mmcf of the
plant remaining unutilised. 

Further utilisation of the production capacity now depends on the commissioning of the north-south pipeline to connect with the national grid, they said. Further utilisation of the production capacity now depends on the commissioning of the north-south pipeline to connect with the national grid, they said. 

They said commissioning of the new pipeline, expected this month, would hardly consume additional 20 mmcf
gas per day produced at the plant. The commissioning of the pipeline was scheduled in August but delayed for connecting it with the national grid through a difficult technical process called hot tapping without disrupting gas supply. 

Officials said UBL's activities is now confined to maintenance of the lone plant and participation in some
community development activities around the project sites.  Community activities include modernisation of schools, colleges and madrasas, providing sanitary facilities, sports materials, books, computers and health services.

Unocal plans to spend Tk 60 lakh this year for the purpose, said community affairs manager and
exploration consultant of the company AKM Nurul Huda.